A candlelit parade and ceremony took place to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD).

Mayor of Hertsmere, Cllr Alan Plancey, led the event on Monday, which began with a candle-lit parade from Hertsmere Borough Council's car park in Borehamwood, to Hertswood Academy, where the ceremony included videos, speaker, speeches and musical performances.

The event was held to remember the six million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered by the Nazis and everyone else who suffered during the Holocaust.

January 27 marks 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, just months before the second World War ended.

Joining the mayor were the Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, Robert Voss CBE, and a number of Hertsmere borough councillors and officers, local dignitaries and residents.

Police officers provided support too alongside Hertsmere volunteer police cadets.

As well as the Holocaust Memorial Day prayer read by the Mayor’s Chaplain, Rabbi Elchonon Feldman, followed by a two-minute silence, there were also speeches by Mr Voss and council leader, Cllr Morris Bright MBE, videos, and musical performances from the Immanuel College choir and Christine Bennett.

Cllr Plancey said: "The ceremony was very moving and emotional and reminds us of why it is so important to remember those who have suffered at the hands of genocidal regimes. It demonstrates how lessons of the past can inform our lives today and ensure everyone works together to create a safer, better future."